Junior Lyceum, secondary students learn side by side

The system used at the new St Benedict's College, that allows pupils who pass and those who fail their Junior Lyceum exam to attend the same school, is working so well that few pupils who did not pass the exam last year felt the need to do a re-sit this year.

Students who pass the exam, taken at the end of primary school, would normally go on to a Junior Lyceum and those who fail, to a so-called area secondary school. This is not the case, however, at St Benedict's College, which incorporates a new secondary school in Kirkop and eight feeder primary schools from surrounding towns and villages.

Although students who have passed their Junior Lyceum exam are still following a different curriculum for many subjects, they spend a quarter of their time with the other students. Religion, personal and social development, physical education and expressive arts classes bring all the school's pupils together, and both groups use the same resources.

"The aim is to have integration instead of two different classes of students," secondary school head Joseph Micallef told The Times during an open day held at the school yesterday.

Moreover, during its first year, the school embarked on a project whereby pupils who did not pass their Junior Lyceum exams but still did well in mathematics, took classes alongside the pupils who had passed the exam.

The system has worked very well, the head said, to the extent that few of those who failed the Junior Lyceum exam had applied for a re-sit.

Mr Micallef said all this was aimed at removing the stigma surrounding area secondary schools. It was also meant to show that their students were as capable, in some subjects, as those attending a Junior Lyceum.

The school also abides by a policy under which all teachers must teach both sections of students, removing the perception that good teachers teach only at what are considered to be good schools.

Among its other novel concepts, the secondary school has introduced a wholly healthy tuck-shop, which is run by the school. Mr Micallef said no soft drinks, sweets or fatty foods are sold and instead the pupils can opt to buy cereal bars, fruit, yoghurts and milk shakes.

The school also aims to introduce recycling and during yesterday's open day students were creating recycling bins which would be used in the classrooms.

Activities connected with the inauguration of the new school kicked off last Tuesday with a programme for the primary schools which form part of the college. Thursday saw the official opening, while on Friday parents of students attending the secondary school were invited to attend lessons with their children. Mr Micallef said the attendance was good, and some parents even asked whether they could go more often.

Yesterday the school opened its doors to the public with a melange of activities taking place throughout the day.

The open day, which started off with Mass in the morning, included a five-a-side football tournament for under 14s from the nurseries of the surrounding villages, a treasure hunt, drama, a display of vintage cars, a rugby demonstration, an abseiling display by the scouts and displays by the police dog section and the Civil Protection Department.